The Democrats should have no illusions: Hate-America runs far deeper than Bush and will persist in Germany and elsewhere long after Bush has left office. In fact - Bush has become a convenient way for many European America-haters to justify and deflect scrutiny of behavior and attitudes rooted in far deeper resentments.

One could compare this long-standing anti-Americanism to a recurring virus that periodically falls into relative dormancy just beneath the surface - only to erupt into full-blown disease when triggered by the right set of circumstances. (For example Iraq, stationing missiles in Europe, Vietnam, etc.) This cyclical explosion of irrational resentment - aided and abetted by major segments of the left-leaning German media seeking to profit from it - often clouds and overshadows honest attempts on both sides of the Atlantic to discuss and resolve differences of opinion on issues of utmost geopolitical importance.

We knew this would happen. We knew some sick member of Germany's extreme left-wing media would express their deep joy at the tragedy in New Orleans. Of course, we hoped that such twisted outbursts of Schadenfreude would simply never happen. But this is Germany. This is the same country where 31% of Germans under 30 believed the US government could have been behind September 11. So, in a way, we weren't shocked to see the following piece by Philipp Mausshardt in the Tageszeitung(taz). But the article, entitled "The True Catastrophe" is shocking nonetheless. The concluding paragraphs read:

"Yet joy and sympathy beat simultaneously in my chest. I am, for example, joyful at the moment that the latest hurricane catastrophe hasn't again hit some poor land, but instead the richest country in the world.

Yes, I even see in that a form of balancing justice for that which the inhabitants of that country have done to others through their war in Iraq.

I would, however, be even more happy, if I knew that only the houses of Bush voters and members of the Army had been destroyed.

I feel genuinely sorry for all the rest."

What an enlightened thing to think: It's just fine if people suffer, suffocate and starve, as long as they are political opponents or have a different worldview. It's just fine if people lose their homes and drown in their own feces, as long as they are members of the US military and red-state Bush voters. It isn't so bad that an entire city has been flooded and thousands killed and displaced because it is somehow "balancing justice" for this to be happening to the United States and not some poor nation.

And make no mistake, far more people in Germany share Mr. Mausshardt's views than anyone is willing to admit. The only difference is that Mr. Mausshardt is extreme enough to express his opinions openly. We have already heard more than one story of other Germans expressing similar views in private. Disgusting but true.

And think about this: Is it any wonder that sick people like Mausshardt continue to turn a blind eye to the world's most brutal dictators while they blast the United States? These are the very same people who celebrated Stalin's holocaust sixty years ago as the brave new world. These are the very same people who locked people with different political views away to rot in Stasi prison cells. These are the very same people who still can't admit that Germany is free and democratic today (and not one big Soviet colony) largely because of the men and women of the United States Military...ironically the very same people they wan't to see suffer and perish today.

And make no mistake: People like Philipp Mausshardt must be aggressively confronted when they write this sort of disgusting garbage. We at Medienkritik would like to hope that Mausshardt does not represent the majority in Germany. We honestly believe that he does not...but sometimes we are not always so sure about that...and that is what worries us.

Update: In the latest TAZ editorial by Michael Streck entitled "America Ashamed of Itself", the author writes what it is really about for the angry left...and it's not helping those in need:

"One week of the flood catastrophe make it even clearer: The United States is standing at a breaking point. "Katrina" will burn itself into the public conscience like "9/11" or Saigon. The storm not only destroyed America's picture of itself. It has, moreover, the power to end the Republican era sooner than expected. America is ashamed of itself." (emphasis ours)

Make no mistake folks. For the bitter left this is an enormous moment of opportunity. Or so they think. From the beginning this has been about the blame game. They hope that this horrible disaster will sweep them into power more quickly than they had hoped. Sad but true: At a moment when America needs to unify and overcome political divisions, many hope to exacerbate those divisions and the tragedy that is Katrina to their own political ends. The media feeding frenzy has only just begun, so buckle your seatbelts. And these are the same people who always criticize Bush for being a divider instead of a uniter...you may throw up now...

This guy prefers blunt talk instead of nuanced diplomatic babble, which has become the cornerstone of Germany's highly successful multilateral foreign policy! Members of the German media, known for their courtesy and politeness against Arab dictators and (while they existed) communist leaders, dismissively label Bolton a "neoconservative hardliner" (Financial Times Germany), "right-wing hardliner" (TAZ), and "hawk" (SWR).

Just a few quotes to show the truly evil, neocon nature of this man:

On the International Criminal Court:America's posture toward the ICC should be "Three Noes": no financial support, directly or indirectly; no cooperation; and no further negotiations with other governments to "improve" the ICC. Such a policy cannot entirely eliminate the risks posed by the ICC, but it can go a long way in that direction.

The United States should raise our objections to the ICC on every appropriate occasion, as part of our larger campaign to assert

On a day where the 1,5 million victims of the Nazi terror in the Auschwitz concentration camp are remembered, some German left-wing media stress the connection to - Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, where on November 9, 2003, (see update 2) former employees of Saddam Hussein had the misfortunes of being mistreated by a few U.S. guards.

TAZ: The torture scandal of the US army in Abu Ghraib shows that sadism has a place in civilized nations, while Guantánamo Bay proves that the principle of the concentration camp, namely to provide a nationalized, radically lawless space, is being declared a respectable instrument in the "war against terrorism". If they had had a choice, most prisoners of a concentration camp would have opted for something like the cages of Guantánamo Bay, where you at least had a chance to survive. But this doesn't change the fact that the KZ (concentration camp) principle today is upheld with pride by the leading nation of the civilized world.

And the weekly "Die Zeit" prints an article by one Francine Prose, an American novelist (who protested against the election of George W. Bush still in January 2005, which tells you something about her post-election psychological condition). Prose, too, holds it necessary to compare Auschwitz to "Guantanamo" and "Abu Ghraib".

How things have changed. In the post-war past in Germany, the Right wanted to minimize the atrocities committed in the concentration camps in the name of Germany. Now the Left - in their never ending desire to smear the current U.S. administration - minimizes the image of the holocaust by comparing the years-long gassing of millions of jews in Nazi Germany to the mistreatment of a limited number of Iraqis on just one day or on a couple of days. And this comparison (1, 2) has already become something of a tradition in the German media.

You may throw up now...

Update 1: I think it is appropriate to put the taz quote into a pictorial context...

taz: "If they had had a choice, most prisoners of a concentration camp would have opted for something like the cages of Guantánamo Bay, where you at least had a chance to survive. But this doesn't change the fact that the KZ (concentration camp) principle today is upheld with pride by the leading nation of the civilized world."Hmm... "most people". Some of course would have preferred to stay with Dr. Josef Mengele in Auschwitz. Just in case they needed to see a doctor...

Update 2: Checking a trustworthy source it seems that the infamous November day at Abu Ghraib was the 8th, not the 9th.

BUSH BELONGS IN FRONT OF A WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL - NOT IN THE WHITE HOUSE
New wars of agression cannot be ruled out

In his first term, US President George W. Bush already threw away more
sympathy and earned more hostility and hate than any of his predecessors since 1776*. Bush achieved this catastrophic result with his contraproductive "war against terror", which he carried out with a
crusade mentality. He constantly violates and scorns international law, and wages an illegal war against Iraq against the declared will of 95% of all countries with up to 180,000 civilians killed.

... lies and manipulation .... conditions fufilled for a an impeachment trial against Bush ... mandate for the continuation of his devestating policies ... neo-conservative baiters and religious warriors ... etc.,
etc., etc..

(* Translator's note: the first American president took office in 1789, not 1776.)

One of the tragic aspects of the "Bush Derangement Syndrome" is that there is as yet no cure. Scientists feverishly work on it, but to no avail so far. Dear colleagues of TAZ, please heed our advice: lots of fresh air and an occasional cold water shower can do wonders...

Here's the latest conspiracy theory circulating among Germany's loony left, as presented in a public discussion at the Berlin Volksbühne:

"The New York philosophress Nancy Fraser ... recognizes in the current situation the gravest domestic political crisis since the civil war: 'There is a chance that we will experience massive voter fraud.'" For the new voting machines are manufactured by Diebold, a company which is rumored to have conservative sympathies. And Diebold has not allowed to analyze the software. "I see domestically an erosion of democracy, which I don't understand, but which really scares me", Ms. Fraser revealed.

This comes in handy, just in case Bush is reelected...

(Translation by Paul)

Update: This should alarm the German media: It's not just the Diebold-neocon conspiracy - BUSH IS GOING TO REPEAL VOTING RIGHTS FOR BLACKS AND WOMEN!! SPON, can you hear me??

Normally one wouldn't want to touch the leftist (German daily) taz with a ten-foot pole, but this report by Inga Rogg is surprisingly sober.

"Arab Journalists are Hypocrites"

(...) The [Iraqi] Minister for Human Rights, Bakhtyar Amin, isn't a man with a volatile temper. For more than 20 years he has championed the cause of human rights in his country.
And he is infuriated that he had to learn of the abuses in Abu Ghraib from the media. ...
But he is just as upset at the reaction of Arab politicians and journalists, whom he accuses of hypocrisy for loudly criticizing the Americans. "They were all silent when the Saddam Regime executed thousands of prisoners", he says, once again in his role as the voice of the victims of the dictatorship. ...

"As bad as the American transgressions are", he continues, "we must not forget that our country is built on a boneyard." More than 300,000 people were inhumed in mass graves. The true tragedy is that, even today, there is still too little discussion about it. "But the victims have a long memory."

It is this memory that disposes many victims of the despotism to refrain from criticism of the US. For there are also images of the dictatorship's crimes, though they are mostly unknown in the West. One of them can be seen at the entrance to the Association of former political prisoners. It shows the hanging of an inmate.
In the background a guard is standing, one arm akimbo, on his face an expression of satisfaction.

Amin has some advice for Arab sovereigns: they should follow George W. Bush's example and apologize for the crimes they've committed. "Washington is showing us how a democracy deals with criminal behavior," Amin says. "We should learn from this, not only here in Iraq, but throughout the Arab world."

Throughout the German media, as well...

taz, this time, excused.

BTW: You may want to check my posting "Cycle of Ignorance" on the German media's reaction to the Abu Ghraib abuses.

The German media are trying very hard not to relay the basic message of the Hutton report.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: 56 per cent of a poll by NOP for the "Evening Standard" called it unfair that the BBC was given the major part of the blame.

taz: The next Palace revolt and the next scandal - whatever the topic - are just around the corner. Tony Blair is a Prime Minister whose time is running out. He is perhaps the last to realize it.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung: Nevertheless, it is not an outstanding result for Blair. The majority of the population now believes that Blair - elected into office seven years ago as a man of moral renewal - does not take the truth seriously. The Hutton report will not change that.

Netzeitung: Loser Blair. ... Blair, too, is one of the losers. ... The Kelly affair has destroyed Blair's eternal smile.